150 Years 1872-1886 The Dalles THE DECADES OF HISTORY PART TWO OF THE DALLES CHRONICLE'S TEN-PART SERIES. March 30, 2007 page 7 TO-MORROW IS AN ANNIVERSARY WE'LL NEVER FORGET ONE YEAR AFTER THE FIRE - Part One One year ago to-morrow, May 21, 1879, The Dalles was visited by a conflagration which laid in ashes the greater portion of the business part of the city. The fire had its origin in the lamp room of the Pioneer Hotel on Second street, about half-past four o-clock in the afternoon, and before effective measures could be taken to prevent, it had burst through the roof and sides of the hotel, and was quickly beyond all human power to check or control. A west wind which sprang up about the time the fire started, speedily drove the flames up Second street to Washington, and then veering toward the south, turned their course down Washington street to the river front; from thence the wind still changing till it came from a southeast quarter, the conflagration was rapidly driven down the stream to the bridge of the O.S.N. Co., sweeping everything in its course, and with such rapidity that but little opportunity was given to save the contents of the buildings that lay in its track. The area burned extended from Washington street on the east to the bridge on the west, and from the river front across First and Second streets, and on one block extending to Third street, in all seven blocks on which but four buildings remained standing, and these in a more or less damaged condition. Thus, in a few short hours was swept away property to the amount of $325,000, in which there was insurance to the amount of about $100,000, comprising the main business port of the city, and many of the most prominent and substantial business houses of The Dalles, including the Umatilla House, Empire, Pioneer and Walla Walla Hotels, with their contents, the stores and merchandise of Nickelsen & Fredden, Max Vogt & Co., I.X.L. Store, Blumauer & Son, California Store, Jos. Frieman, Renfro & Ball, Vogt & Callenberg, Geo. Ruch, A. Baum, F.G. Bochow, Jos. Diamond Cohen & Cooper, O.S. Savage, A. Bellingen, C.T. Williams, M & L. Newman and others, the livery stable of Williams & Marchbanks, and a large number of saloons, restaurants, barber shops, markets, offices, shops and other buildings. The losses in some of these instances were very heavy, and nearly all fell upon men who had their whole means invested in business, and frequently not protected by insurance. To Be Continued Incoming and Outgoing messages protected by Trend Micro PC-cillin program